What is comprehensive travel insurance?
Comprehensive travel insurance is the highest and broadest level of cover a travel insurer sells to overseas and domestic travellers. It's also typically the most expensive type of travel insurance.
Why should I get comprehensive travel insurance?
The Australian Government’s Smartraveller website strongly recommends taking out travel insurance if you’re heading overseas.
Insurance can be important if you travel to a country without a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Australia, meaning the Australian Government will not cover medical treatment costs overseas. This could leave you paying thousands of dollars.
Basic policies generally only cover you for medical expenses. Depending on your travel plans, you may prefer to pick a comprehensive policy over a basic or standard one.
More inclusions
Inclusions are events covered by your policy. Comprehensive cover offers a wider level of cover when compared to a basic policy. Here are some common comprehensive inclusions that basic policies may exclude:
- Trip cancellation costs or cutting your trip short
- Travel delays
- Rental car excess, which refers to any out-of-pocket costs incurred from damaging a hire or rental vehicle
- Pre-existing conditions.
Higher claim limit and sub-limit
A claim limit is the maximum dollar amount an insurer pays out for a claim during the life of the policy, while a sub-limit is the maximum claimable amount on a specific feature.
On a comprehensive policy, a higher claim limit and sub-limits give you fuller financial protection if a crisis unfolds.
With a standard policy, you may run the risk of being underinsured if the value of any claim exceeds its claim limits or sub-limits. Here are some possible high-risk examples:
- Taking expensive items or luggage, such as luxury watches, jewellery, or high-value electronics, overseas
- Carrying a large amount of physical cash, credit cards and travel documents
- Spending thousands on luxury flights, accommodations, and private tours.
- Travelling at an older age, where the risk of illness or injury is higher.
- Travelling abroad for a few weeks or months, or to multiple countries.
Lower excesses
An excess is the fee you agree to pay to submit a claim. A lower excess means you’ll have to spend less to access features on your policy.
What does comprehensive travel insurance cover?
Unlike basic forms of travel insurance, which only cover you for overseas emergency medical and dental costs, comprehensive travel insurance generally offers additional cover for things like:
Loss or theft of luggage, passports or other items
Replacing luggage, personal effects, credit cards, cash and travel documents are the most common claims for travel insurance. However, if your belongings were stolen or damaged because they were left unattended, your claim is likely to be rejected.
Unexpected delays or cancellations to your trip
Cancellations and delays due to illness, accident, your employer cancelling your holiday leave, or a natural disaster at home or at your intended destination will generally be covered.
Some policies may also cover the cost of meals, accommodation and transport should you have to extend your stay due to circumstances that are out of your control.
Legal liability
If you break a local law and need a lawyer or interpreter, comprehensive travel insurance could help cover the cost of legal services.
Repatriation
If you fall ill, are seriously injured, or pass away while overseas, comprehensive travel insurance can cover the costs of repatriation (returning you and your belongings to Australia). Some policies may help cover the costs of returning home if you have a family emergency.
Optional extras
Some policies offer a variety of useful extras, such as cover for:
- Adventure activities and sports (like skiing and snowboarding)
- Cruises
- Kennels and catteries for your pets at home
- Loss of income or a permanent disability.
Comprehensive travel insurance policies may also give you the option to:
- Choose your own excess or waive it entirely (often for a higher premium)
- Increase the limits and sub-limits for expensive items (like laptops, mobile phones, and jewellery) that you plan on travelling with.
It’s important to check your policy’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to see what you will and won’t be covered for, as well as what limits and sub-limits apply.
You can start comparing travel insurance policies with Canstar to find cover that suits your particular needs and budget.
What does comprehensive travel insurance not cover?
Like other policies, comprehensive travel insurance won’t cover every situation, especially if you void your cover. Comprehensive travel exclusions may include:
- Failing to disclose a pre-existing medical condition you were aware of at the time you took out a travel insurance policy. This automatically disqualifies you from any coverage for that condition.
- If you were under the influence of drugs or alcohol when you incur a loss, injury, or public liability charge, you won’t be covered.
- If you were behaving illegally, recklessly, or dangerously, you won’t be covered for claims that could be avoided by behaving reasonably.
- Travelling to a country with an active travel warning.
- Any possessions that are stolen or lost while unattended.
How much is comprehensive travel insurance?
The cost of comprehensive travel insurance will depend on a range of factors. For example, at the time of writing, comprehensive policies in Canstar's database start from around $87 for a two-week trip to Bali, compared to $118 for two weeks in the United Kingdom.
How much you actually pay for comprehensive travel insurance boils down to the following factors:
- Age: The older you are, the higher the premiums — that’s because an older traveller is at a higher risk of falling sick or getting injured while overseas.
- The number of travellers: The more travellers listed under your policy, the more you’ll have to pay.
- Health conditions: If you have a pre-existing health condition, you may have to pay an extra cost to access cover for it.
- Destination/s: If you are travelling to a country (or countries) with a strong currency and a higher cost of healthcare, your travel insurance may cost more.
- Trip length: In the eyes of an insurer, a longer trip overseas exposes you to an increased risk of having to submit a claim.
- Lowering your excess: You’ll have to pay more in premiums if you choose to lower your excess.
- Add-ons: Opting for add-ons on top of your comprehensive cover will incur extra costs.
If you’d like to save money while enjoying the benefits that comprehensive cover has to offer, you can start by:
- Comparing travel insurance: By comparing a range of different providers on Canstar’s database, you may be able to find a comprehensive policy that’s cheaper.
- Increasing your excess. You can reduce the premium on your policy by opting for a higher excess, but you run the risk of having to pay more if you need to make a claim.
